Letter to the Editor: Tahoe City Transit Center has dangerous flaw

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I will admit, I rarely ride the bus. I wanted to point out an interesting and potentially dangerous flaw in the Transit Center, one which I observed after the last small snowstorm and have heard others comment on.

It used to be that if you wanted to catch the bus to Truckee, you waited at the shelter in front of Plumas Bank, which could be reached by safely walking through town on the sidewalk. Now you have to catch it at the Transit Center, which is only a short walk away in the summer.

In the winter, though, there is no sidewalk beyond the Bridgetender to get you there, forcing people to walk through the puddles on the unprotected shoulder of the road. I personally witnessed a woman get the better part of a puddle sprayed on her by a passing car while trying to get there, groceries in tow. The bike path provides safe passage, but it is not cleared in the winter, which will force people to posthole through the snow once winter truly arrives.

How are people supposed to utilize public transit if you just made it harder for them to do so?

Two simple solutions: Either clear the bike path to make access easier, or provide transfers for those who are going to Truckee if they catch the bus inside Tahoe City, instead of making them pay a whole second fare for trying to be safe.